We Can Work It Out
It is always flattering when someone presents an opportunity to work together. Likewise, it’s a big deal to suggest to someone that you would be keen to join forces on a project.
Over the years, I’ve been incredibly fortunate to work alongside some brilliant people.
Recently, I posed the following question to my Facebook friends;
What qualities do you look for (above all others) in people you work with (or are considering working with)?
Over the next couple of hours, the answers rolled in from some of my favourite people.
I wanted to share some of them here.
Of course, this is not a scientific survey.
I hope that it might be food for thought. For me, the qualities below are certainly ones to aspire to – and I may have a long way to go!
Reading them was inspiring and reassuring, and only strengthened my desire to work more closely with some of my favourite people, in 2013 and beyond.
Here are some of the replies, including thoughts from entrepreneurs, writers, executives, civil servants and former Army officers;
What qualities do you look for (above all others) in people you work with (or are considering working with)?
“I value intangibles quite a bit – courage and tenacity would be my two”
“Honesty. Thoughtfulness. Integrity”
“Humour, honesty, drive, entrepreneurial spirit, niceness”
“Resilience. Experimentation. Humility.”
“If I wouldn’t want to go out to dinner with them, I wouldn’t want to work them on a project. If I wouldn’t invite them into my home for the weekend, I wouldn’t want to go into business with them. Keep it simple.”
“Passion, determination and loyalty. I’d take passion over everything else since the other two tend to be part of the passion package anyway.”
“Kindness. Intelligence. Capacity to deal with stress. Hungry to learn. Coachable. Articulate their weaknesses and areas for development and open to input. Produces results. Thinks for themselves. Has good time management. Can write well. Able to deal with multiple demands. Loyalty. Open. Authentic. Bold and courageous.”
“Open, honest, passionate, positive”
“Tenacity, principles, curiosity and responsiveness (ability to learn, adapt and react).”
“Anyone who’s keen, loyal and smart gets the job for me.”
“Humility, determination, generosity and accountability. Oh, and I quite like them to be clever too.”
“Authenticity, connectivity, capability. In order.”
“Is the right answer: really bad puns, someone’s Uncle’s taste in music and an amazing ability to connect people?”
“Grammatical supremacy.”
“Ability to integrate information and articulate clearly opportunities and risks. Creativity, empathy and determination.”
“Attention to detail is the key to success… Been my phrase forever! That and calm in the midst of stress”
“Drive, initiative, ability to create their own work without being micromanaged and a sense of humour.”
“Someone who is interested in using their talent in service of something bigger than themselves, in a way that benefits others and the generations to come.”
“Integrity, someone who is a do-er and gets stuck in too, and someone I can learn from.”
Which of these would you especially agree with?
Which qualities are missing?
I am grateful to friends and colleagues for sharing their thoughts and wish them, and you, well throughout 2013 and beyond.
May every collaboration you have in mind turn into a success.
photo by Joe Dsilva